Looking for advice, Fluted/ non-fluted

I am going to buy a Savage Weather Warrior .300 win, and have a choice of fluted or not. The barrel is 26inch heavy sportier .700 inch at the muzzle. I would like to know what you guys with more experience think. I will use the gun for elk hunting & long range shooting.

I am going to buy a Savage Weather Warrior .300 win, and have a choice of fluted or not. The barrel is 26inch heavy sportier .700 inch at the muzzle. I would like to know what you guys with more experience think. I will use the gun for elk hunting & long range shooting.

Thanks

Fluted barrels look good but do nothing for accuracy and they don't remove much weight
so the choice is yours based on what you like .

A non fluted barrel one size smaller is about the same weight and is just as strong.

I personally don't like to flute barrels that are any lighter than the varmint weight barrels
because of the potential of causing the barrel to be off center to center. (Strait).

Don't get me wrong I have and like fluted barrels. But they have there place and add to
the price of the rifle.

I have ,and use, both. one "test" I did was with .300 RUM, the "harmonics" changed after fluting, I had to move the Simms Vibration dampner further toward the muzzle after fluting, (pac Nor BBl.) and rifle seems to shoot a little tighter now.

Fluted barrels look good but do nothing for accuracy and they don't remove much weight
so the choice is yours based on what you like .

A non fluted barrel one size smaller is about the same weight and is just as strong.

I personally don't like to flute barrels that are any lighter than the varmint weight barrels
because of the potential of causing the barrel to be off center to center. (Strait).

Don't get me wrong I have and like fluted barrels. But they have there place and add to
the price of the rifle.

J E CUSTOM

I have to agree and disagree with you here. I would not flute a barrel that is that small you could only really get .05 deep with the flutes and they would do very little good.

Now we use a harmonic stress relief that allows me to measure the harmonics in the barrels. The harmonics in a fluted barrel are less and they stress relief much quicker. I cant say that it does help for sure but from what this thing is telling me there is a good chance that is gives a little strength to the barrel. Also with fluting you are creating more surface area on a barrel which should in turn allow for faster cooling.

I have to agree and disagree with you here. I would not flute a barrel that is that small you could only really get .05 deep with the flutes and they would do very little good.

Now we use a harmonic stress relief that allows me to measure the harmonics in the barrels. The harmonics in a fluted barrel are less and they stress relief much quicker. I cant say that it does help for sure but from what this thing is telling me there is a good chance that is gives a little strength to the barrel. Also with fluting you are creating more surface area on a barrel which should in turn allow for faster cooling.

Not to start an argument but when you say it does help accuracy then why doesn't the
bench rest guys use them.

If they were better they would all have fluted barrels.

I am a metallurgist and speed of stress relieving temperatures is fixed and the hold time is what gives it it's desired
effect so speed is not an option for a proper stress relief.

Also a #5+ (Lilja barrel is .700 at the muzzle) is able to handel fluting well. I think Lilja will flute down to a #4 . Some other barrel makers use a different number system for there barrels and
there #5 may be to small.

I like the Lilja size system because it relates to factory barrels all the way down to the ultra
light barrels of mountain rifles and some of the Weatherby buggy whips (They are a # 2
Contour).

So I will stay with my original statement that for the long range Shooter they are not any
better They just look better to some people.